Kritik und Anregungen » ns chase had started

PITTSBURGH -- Two teams currently heading in opposite directions will meet again Saturday, for the second of three games in Pittsburgh this weekend.The Chicago Cubs are coming off their fourth straight loss after allowing five combined runs to the Pittsburgh Pirates in the seventh and eighth innings of an 8-4 loss Friday. Meanwhile, the Pirates have won eight of their past nine games to pull within 7.5 games of the National League Central-leading Cubs.Cubs manager Joe Maddon didnt hide his frustration Friday night.Were just not able to play through our mistakes like we did at the beginning of the year, Maddon said. No excuses. Weve got to play better.Pirates right-handed pitcher Chad Kuhl will make his third MLB start after going 1-0 in his first two. He pitched five innings and allowed three earned runs and four hits in a 4-3 win against the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 6 before going six innings with two runs and seven hits against the Oakland Athletics on July 2.The Pirates won each time the 23-year-old has started, which helped bolster a starting rotation that was laboring through a dismal June.Pittsburgh relied on several young pitchers to fuel its recent turnaround, including Kuhl and right-hander Jameson Taillon. It promoted right-hander Tyler Glasnow, the Pirates top-ranked prospect by Baseball America, on Thursday before optioning him back to Triple-A Indianapolis on Friday.The youth movement hasnt just belonged to the pitching staff, though. First baseman Josh Bell was promoted from Indianapolis on Friday, when he pinch-hit against Jake Arrieta in the seventh inning and laced a single to center field in his first major league at-bat to help set up the tying run.Hurdle said the Pirates will use Bell as a bat off the bench during the weekend series before re-evaluating the lineup after the All-Star Break. He was impressed with Bells temperament, however, and would be confident using him in a similar position Saturday.My goodness. Big league first at-bat, that scenario? I dont know how much better it gets than that, Hurdle said. Mom and dad are in the park. Laces a ball on the first pitch off a Cy Young winner. Thats awful nice. I dont know if he had that yesterday when he woke up or this morning on the way here not he plane. Good for him and good for us.It will have to be seen if the Pirates youth can help them overcome veteran left-hander Jon Lester on Saturday.Lester has rolled to a 9-4 record with a 2.67 ERA, but is coming off his worst start of the season. He went just 1 1/3 innings and allowed eight earned runs on nine hits in Chicagos 14-3 loss to the New York Mets on July 3.In his previous three starts against Pittsburgh this season, Lester has allowed four combined runs across 18 1/3 innings pitched in three wins. He had his least impressive performance against the Pirates when he last faced them, allowing three runs in six innings, but winning 4-3 on June 18. Cheap Basketball Shoes Free Shipping . They reached the 100-point plateau for the fourth time in five games, bested the visiting Trail Blazers by 34 in the paint and scored 19 of the final 25 points in regulation. Cheap Basketball Shoes China . On Tuesday, Ottawa placed forward Cory Conacher and defenceman Joe Corvo on waivers as trade rumours swirl around the Senators. http://www.cheapbasketballshoesstore.net/ . There are surprises among the Vezina candidates, but most of the others are standard top-tier performers, even if the two Hart Trophy runners-ups have never been quite as good as they have been through the first half of the season. Cheap Nike Chris Paul Basketball Shoes China . Burris threw two TD passes, including a key 15-yard fourth-quarter strike to Bakari Grant that effectively countered a Toronto comeback bid and led Hamilton to a 33-19 victory. Cheap Nike Kevin Durant Basketball Shoes China . Hazard cut in from the left and scored with a swerving right-footed shot for ninth goal of the season, which proved to be enough for the victory despite Chelseas forwards again lacking a cutting edge up front. Afghanistan 212 for 8 (Stanikzai 57, Nabi 49, Shakib 4-47) beat Bangladesh 208 (Mosaddek 45*, Rashid 3-35) by two wicketsScorecard and ball-by-ball details Afghanistan earned a hard-fought two-wicket win in the second ODI against Bangladesh in Mirpur to level the three-match series, banking on astute planning to leave the home crowd at the Shere Bangla National Stadium stunned. The win came mainly through a 107-run partnership for the fifth wicket between Mohammad Nabi and captain Asghar Stanikzai in a chase of 209. Both batsmen were out with Afghanistan 35 away from a win, but Najibullah Zadran rallied the lower order and the side scraped through with two balls to spare.Nabi and Stanikzai came together at the crease in the 16th over with Afghanistan at 63 for 4, following Mohammad Shahzads miscued slog to backward point off Shakib Al Hasan. The pair struck a four and a six off Shakib in the same over but had to wait another 5.4 for another boundary.Despite the lull in boundaries, the pair kept rotating the strike and Stanikzai fought cramps to score his sixth ODI fifty, which included four fours and two sixes. Nabi, who had taken the wickets of Shakib and Mashrafe Mortaza earlier in the match, missed out on the landmark when Mashrafe trapped him lbw in the 40th over, and the side lost Stanikzai in the next over, caught at the deep square leg boundary off debutant Mosaddek Hossain.Rashid Khan became Shakibs fourth victim, in his final over, trapped plumb in front for 5, with Afghanistan 20 runs away from the target. Mirwais Ashraf played out Shakibs last two deliveries carefully, and the bowler ended with returns of 4 for 47. Najibullah and Ashraf then saw off the next over, which was Mashrafes last.The match could have still swunng Bangladeshs way had Mushfiqur Rahim completed an easy stumping of Zadran with 13 runs required.dddddddddddd Bangladeshs players were crestfallen, but Taskin ended up removing the left-hander in the final over with the scores level. The winning hit came from the other Zadran, Dawlat, who slashed a boundary through backward point.Afghanistans chase had started with Shahzad flicking a four off the first ball before Nawroz Mangal took two fours off Shakib in the fourth over. Two balls later, however, Mangal misread Shakibs length and spooned a catch to cover. Shakib went onto have Rahmat Shah lbw for a two-ball duck in the same over.Shahzad sparkled briefly and added 45 runs for the third wicket with Hashmatullah Shahidi, who was trapped lbw for 14 by Mosaddek off his first ball in ODI cricket. Shakib then had Shahzad skewing a catch to backward point for a run-a-ball 35.Bangladeshs innings would have ended sooner had it not been for the 43-run stand for the tenth wicket between Mosaddek and Rubel, who kept out Rashids hat-trick delivery in the 43rd over. Rashid was rampant at that stage, having removed Taijul and Taskin off successive balls.Mosaddek finished with an unbeaten 45, including four boundaries and two sixes. The scoop over long leg and pull over midwicket stood out. When he had come out to bat, Bangladesh were 138 for 5 with Shakib having been given out lbw to a debatable decision. Mosaddek saw wickets tumble around him, but stayed composed.Earlier, Mushfiqur and Mahmudullah added 61 for the third wicket, but Bangladesh lost their last seven wickets for 86 runs. That proved the turning point. ' ' '